September 2016

The beginning of September brought on all the 'back to school' activities, of field trips, co-op and new classes.

We went on a field-trip to a local Fire Station, that was definitely geared a little more to the older children in our group. The fire station tour leaders talked about basic fire safety and how the fire station operates, but also covered topics such as area jurisdictions, insurance restrictions and how it effects how a company runs, sex equality, electrical safety, maps, and the social responsibility the station has for caring for those in need. It was pretty fantastic!

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A good friend and I started a local Nature Co-op this month, aimed at providing children with hands-on time out in nature, with a range of topics we hope to cover over the course of the year's meetings. This month we started with outdoor safety and what to pack in a daypack. Our initial meetings also provided plenty of social time for all our members to get to know each other, so there was plenty of running around, climbing trees, and rock scrambling. Good stuff!

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Hawkeye started a new Ecology class for homeschoolers this month too. This is a year long class, and will meet twice a month at a local botanical gardens, led by a Biologist. During the first class, the students discussed the physical needs of different animals, and the basic ecological properties of water.

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He also attended a class on Trees at our local Wildlife Conservancy group; Hawkeye particularly enjoys these monthly classes! This one was led by a Botanist, and we covered a large amount of information, including native vs. non-native trees, invasive plant species, trees as insect habitats, strata of tree canopies and the different light/water needs of those varying trees, what characteristics to use in identifying different trees, how to use a field guide, the life cycle of a tree, and the differences between male and female trees. It was really fantastic! We came home eager to look up more information on trees, and spent time walking our own neighborhood with a field guide to ID our local trees. One of the trees discussed during the class was the Paw Paw; as chance would have it a neighbor overheard our tree discussions, and gave us a couple of Paw Paw fruit that she had collected that morning. We waited until they were ripe, and then Haweye and his siblings were able to sample them. They were a huge hit, and we now look for Paw Paw fruit whenever we are out and about!

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Hawkeye also attended a library class on Snap Circuit electronics; through this he was able to experiment with solar panels, electrical flow, sound waves through voice, and see Bernoulli's principle of balancing a ball over a flow of air. Although we have several Snap Circuit sets, Hawkeye really enjoyed seeing more complex sets with different projects to build.

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During September we also continued several Ambleside Online inspired studies; we listened to the music of Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina and learned about his life, studied the art and life of Hans Holbein the Younger, and read several picture book versions of Shakepeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

We also began the Brave Writer Jot It Down curriculum, with month one of the Fairy Tale Project. This month we focused on Rapunzel, with book reading and narration, discussion and art.

Hawkeye also expressed an interest in learning about Japan, so we spent some time learning about Japanese culture through picture books, atlas study, reading about Japan in some fantastic reference books (Material World and Children Just Like Me), and making sushi. We also tried our hand at Origami and Kirigami (which led us to watch the fascinating documentary, Between the Folds) and looked at calligraphy, haiku and pictographs. It continues to be a fascinating rabbit hole to explore!

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We had a fantastic field trip with friends to a local Colonial era farm, where Hawkeye had the opportunity to  try a variety of hands on skills, including candle dipping, wool carding and using a drop spindle to make yarn, pounding dried corn, and playing colonial era games. We then visited the farm as well, seeing a smoke house and a root cellar.

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We started several new curricula this month as well:
Waldorf Essentials, Grade 2 - we practiced form drawing, and read stories about the lives of Saints (St Francis, St Christopher and St Jerome). We verbally narrated each of these stories, and then Hawkeye dictated his own summary of each to me.

We also did a week long study of St. Michael and St. George (both famous for their dragon stories!) in preparation for Michaelmas. We made sewed and dyed capes, made shields and swords (out of cardboard), made dragon bread and painted huge dragon banners. So much fun! 

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Exploring Nature With Children
 - week 1. Seed distribution, through wind, air, water or by animal. We collected seeds and divided them into the different distribution types. We also read a few books about seeds, how they develop and how they grow, and did a seed germination experiment.
- week 2. Mini-Beast Hunt; we looked for a wide variety of 'mini-beasts' outside, and then identified them as gastropods, molluscs, insects, isopods ... We read about the identifying features of insects, made clay models of our favorites and wrote our very first Acrostic poem!

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Beautiful Feet: The History of Horses
We are beginning by reading Marguerite Henry's chapter book, The King of the Wind. Through this we have been encouraged to research Morocco, the Islamic faith, Arabian horses, thoroughbred horses and purebred lines, stud books, family trees, King Louis the XV, the palace of Versailles, 18th Century travel and parts of a horse.

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Reading
We continued daily reading (Easy Reader, Level 1 books) and played on the Teach Your Monster To Read app.

Math
Completed Life of Fred: Edgewood
Began working our way through Life of Fred: Farming (we average two chapters each week)

History
We completed the Beautiful Feet Early American History (Primary/Intermediate) curriculum, and began History of the Horse, also from Beautiful Feet

Ongoing Reading
My Book House, In the Nursery (daily)
Aesop Fables (daily)
The poems of Walter de la Mare (daily) completed
The poems of Eugene Field

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin
     - Doctor Goldsmith
     - The Kingdoms
     - The Barmecide Feast

Seabird, by Holling C. Holling (completed)
     - chapter 27

The Tree in the Trail, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 1
     - chapter 2

The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - The Chickadee
     - The Canada Goose and the Loon
     - The White-Breasted Nuthatch and the Brown Creeper
     - The Tree Sparrow and the Junco

Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - The Little Bat Who Wouldn't Go To Bed
     - A Swarm Leaves the Bee Tree
     - The Haughty Ground Hog

The Story Book of Science, by Jean Henri Fabre
     - The Six
 
Chapter Books Read
Seabird, by Holling C. Holling
Ramona's World, by Beverly Cleary
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown, by Sydney Taylor


Non-fiction Books Read
How a Seed Grows, by Helene J. Jordan
From Seed to Plant, by Gail Gibbons
Ten Mile Day: And the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad, by Mary Ann Fraser
John Muir: America's Naturalist, by Thomas Locker


Picture Books Read
Puppies and Piggies, by Cynthia Rylant
The Teeny-Tiny Woman, by Paul Galdone
Sarah's Unicorn, Bruce Colville
A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip C. Stead
The Egg, by M. P. Robertson
Happy Birthday, Good Knight, by Shelley Moore Thomas
A Good Knight's Rest, by Shelley Moore Thomas
A Cold Winter's Good Knight, by Shelley Moore Thomas
Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein
Rapunzel, by Paul O. Zelinsky
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Their New Skates, by Maj Lindman
The Warlord's Beads, by Virginia Walton Pilegard (a picture book about math concepts)
Take Care, Good Knight, by Shelley Moore Thomas
Princess Super Kitty, by Antoinette Portis
Wait, by Antoinette Portis
A Time to Keep, by Tasha Tudor
Babushka's doll, by Patricia Polacco
The Warlord's Fish, by Virgina Walton Pilgard (a fictional picture book about scientific concepts)
Cupid and Psyche, by M. Charlotte Craft, illus. by K. Y. Craft
Pony Island, by Candice F. Ransom
Obelix and Co., by Goscinny and Uderzo
Johnny Appleseed, by Jane Yolen
Applesauce Season, by Eden Ross Lipson
The Paper Crane, by Molly Bang
Not a Stick, by Antoinette Portis
Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert
Rain Makes Applesauce, by Julian Scheer
A Penguin Story, by Antoinette Portis
Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis
The Apple Pie That Papa Baked, by Lauren Thompson
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, by Lois ehlert
Froodle, by Antoinette Portis
Grandfather's Journey, by Allen Say
Flora's Very Windy Day, by Jeanne Birdsall
The Busy Little Squirrel, by Nancy Tafuri
We Gather Together, by Wendy Pfeffer
Ox Cart man, by Donald Hall
The Bicycle Man, by Allen Say

Movies Watched
Nature - Animal Homes
     - Location, Location, Location
     - Animal Cities
Reading Rainbow
     - Ox Cart Man
Between the Folds

Podcasts
Tumble Science
     - How Ants Conquered the Earth
     - The Code of the Flashing Firefly
But Why?
     - How Long Does it Take for a Baby Cheetah to go From a Fluffball to a Hunter
Sparkle Stories
     - The Dragon and the Unicorn

August 2016

We celebrated Lammas on the 1st of August (the beginning of the Harvest season). For the occasion we made Lammas wreaths for our front door (with fruit cut and sundried by Hawkeye and his siblings), and homemade spiral cookies (which they made with some help from me). We also talked about the coming seasonal change, and what harvest time means to farmers, both now and in the past.

l to r: Seal Pup, Buttercup and Hawkeye

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A county adjacent to ours has been offering a fun event again this summer; visit eight out of their twelve County Parks and win a goody bag; this has encouraged to visit several parks that we might not have done. Recent park visits have included Nature Centers, working farms, parks rich with Native American points of interest and a small museum, and parks featuring lakes (with boat rides!)

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We escaped the heat on a recent day to visit our Children's Science Center; Hawkeye loves this center! We had the opportunity to extract DNA from wheatgerm at the Lab Bar, program a robotic arm, use an electron microscope and explore, explore, explore.

Hawkeye extracted DNA from wheatgerm! (Its that tiny white dot on the end of the skewer)

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On the way back from this particular Science Center trip, we stopped for a picnic lunch at a local park. It turned out to be the site of a Civil War battle, complete with information boards and a small cemetery. We had just wrapped up our study of Abraham Lincoln, so this gave some deeper understanding to the events around the Civil War, how local they were to where we live, and the events as they happened outside of Lincoln's life.

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On a particularly hot day, I broke out the wet-on-wet painting. This is a painting technique popular in Waldorf classrooms, where the focus at the elementary level is more of exploring color and the shape of the paint on the paper in relation to the paper itself. This was something Hawkeye had done before, but it had been a while and he had forgotten some of the techniques used; namely, that the paper (at nearly $1 a piece) is precious, rather than usual painting projects where the children can dash through a dozen pieces each in a single session!

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A local park with a Colonial era home on the grounds, held a Colonial Living day that we attended. This is a regularly hosted event, that we have been to before, but it is a firm family favorite! Hawkeye had the opportunity to try his hand at several of the different hands on activities, including grinding corn, splitting logs with a fro and axe, aided by a wooden hand hewn mallet (it was really hard work, he said!), working at a shaving horse with a backing knife (again, hard work!), helping to tend a fire and cook pottage in the 'summer kitchen' (aka outside!), learn about spinning and using sealing wax, and play period games such as grace sticks, skittles and hoop trundling. As we studied the Colonial era through our Beautiful Feet history curriculum, Early American History, last fall and winter, I love that these events help bring history off the page, and give Hawkeye a glimpse into everyday life.

Working on the Shaving Horse and the Backing Knife

Hoop trundling!

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After a suspected siting of a hummingbird in our neighborhood, we hung our hummingbird feeder up outside, in a spot that we could easily see from our living room. we were soon rewarded by many visits from a pair of hummingbirds. This sent Hawkeye to his much loved copy of  Sibley Field Guide of Eastern North America, to look up the birds and identify them (Ruby Throated Hummingbirds). We looked up some additional information on the birds online, such as feeding frequency (every five to ten minutes - goodness!) and nesting habits.

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We went to an evening lecture on Bats towards the end of the month, held by our local Wildlife Conservancy group. We learned about the two main types of bats, mega- and micro-bats, their habitats, feeding habits and how they use echolocation. We also had the opportunity to see two rehabilitated bats up close, and then spend time outside at dusk with sonagram trackers, to locate bats. Fascinating!

Hawkeye using a sonogram tracker to detect bats

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After reading a chapter book we often like to do a simple book report on the book; a picture from a scene that we particularly enjoyed and a little bit about the book and what we liked about it. Hawkeye really enjoyed our recent reading of The Green Ember, by S. D. Smith and asked to write a book report, which we (of course!) did. I happened to post a picture of it on Instagram, and it was spotted by the author himself who wrote Hawkeye a lovely note: "Wow! This is excellent! Please say hello to this amazing kid for me." Needless to say, Hawkeye was just thrilled to get such feedback from the author of his 'favorite book ever'!

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At the end of this month we also started some new projects. We began using our Waldorf Essentials curriculum (Grade Two); the focus for this year is on Heroes and Saints, and Hawkeye is enjoying the work very much so. He also had his first try at form drawing, a Waldorf method of introducing the various shapes used in cursive writing.

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We are also gearing up to begin our new 4H year; this will be Hawkeye's fourth year in 4H, and his first a project leader himself. He has chosen to lead two different projects: Board Game Club and Stream Exploration. Although I will be on hand to support him throughout the year, this will mean that he will be communicating with the Club leaders on dates for his meetings, arranging meeting venues, and organizing the meetings themselves. In addition he will need to discuss his projects with other club members. Although it is typically parents and other adults who lead Club Projects, younger club members do have that option; Hawkeye was really excited to try leading these Projects. I'm excited to see him continue to grow in his role as a 4H member this year! 

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We also began our Composer and Artist Studies for the year. We are following the recommendations of the Charlotte Mason Ambleside Online curriculum for this area.  In art, we are studying Hans Holbein the Younger; Hawkeye is not overly impressed so far, although he did enjoy catching the 'clues' in the pictures, that the artist was depicting a long-ago era. For Composer Study we are listening to Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina; Hawkeye enjoys the gentle dreaminess of his music and was very proud of himself for learning to repeat his name!

Reading
We continued daily reading (Easy Reader, Level 1 books) and played on the Teach Your Monster To Read app.

Math
Completed Life of Fred: Edgewood
Began working our way through Life of Fred: Farming (we average two chapters each week)

History
We completed the Beautiful Feet Early American History (Primary/Intermediate) curriculum, and began History of the Horse, also from Beautiful Feet

Ongoing Reading
My Book House, In the Nursery (daily)
Aesop Fables (daily)
The poems of Walter de la Mare (daily)

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin
     -The Bell of Atri
     - How Napoleon Crossed the Alps
     - Julius Caesar
     - Socrates and His House
     - The King and His Hawk

Seabird, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 22
     - chapter 23
     - chapter 24
     - chapter 25
     - chapter 26

The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
     - The Purple Linnet and the Goldfinch
     - The Mourning Dove and the Cuckoo
     - The Shrike and and the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
     - The English Starling and the Cedar Waxwing

Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - The Story of the Cow Bird's Egg
     - Mrs Mourning Dove's Housekeeping
     - The Young Blue Jay Who Was Not Brave Enough To Be Scared
     - Little Rabbit Learns to See

Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling (completed)
     - The Crab That Played With the Sea
     - The Cat That Walked By Himself
     - The Butterfly That Stamped

Chapter Books Read
The Green Ember, by S. D. Smith
Ramona Forever, by Beverly Cleary
Clementine, by Sara Pennybacker
Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
Schoolhouse in the Woods, by Rebecca Caudill
The Black Star of Kingston, by S. D. Smith


History Books Read
Meet Abraham Lincoln, by Barbara Cary
Abraham Lincoln, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
Buffalo Bill, by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire


Picture Books Read
Fishing in the Air, by Sharon Creech
Rumpelstiltskin, by Paul O. Zelinsky
Zoom Broom, by Margie Palatini
The Twelve Dancing Princesses, by John Cech
Gizmo, by Barry Varela
Owly and Wormy - Friends All Aflutter, by Andy Runton
Owly and Wormy - Bright Lights and Starry Nights, by Andy Runton
Through Granpa's Eyes, by Patricia MacLachlan
King Midas and the Golden Touch, by Charlotte Craft
Frankenstein's Fright Before Christmas, by Ludworst Bemonster
Appelemando's Dream, by Patricia Polacco
have You Heard the Nesting Bird, by Rita Gray
The Glorious Flight, by Alice and Martin Provensen
Flicka, Ricka and Dicka Go To the Market, by Maj Lindman
Our Nest, by Reeve Lindbergh
Pete's A Pizza, by William Steig
Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Strawberries, by Maj Lindman
The Bear That Heard Crying, by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Helen Kinsey
Long Night Moon, by Cynthia Rylant
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the New Dotted Dresses, by Maj Lindman


Movies Watched
Myth Hunters: The Quest for Noah's Ark

Nature: Animal Homes - The Nest
72 Cutest Animals: episodes 1 and 2

July 2016

We've got some catching up to do!

(And a caveat ... this is likely to be a little clunky the first few weeks, as I get into a comfortable grove of what works for me in keeping this blog-journal of our home education days).

After a break from our usual home education routine, we got back to work midway through July.

The end of July month was very 4H heavy, with a rush to complete our annual Project Books and then our 4H County Fair. 

For his Project Book, Hawkeye wanted to include a picture of his recent awards; here he is with his Valued Club Member medal, Club 4H Spirit medal (awarded to just one club member who has best exemplified the 4H spirit each year), and his ribbon for the winning entry to the Junk to Treasure Club Contest. 

Hawkeye entered his Project Book into the Fair to be judged, and was awarded a blue ribbon for his efforts! He also volunteered in the Ice Cream Shack and in the Ticket Booth (where he handed out programs and maps, helped answer questions about the Fair and helped me make some change for ticket sales). And then he also had a few chances throughout the week to just enjoy the fair itself. Demolition Derbys, meeting Nascar racer Patrick Szabo, entering a corn eating contest, visiting a working tin smith (who was so generous with his knowledge and gave a wonderful demonstration of his skills) and touring the show animals. We really do love our County Fair!

We also had a few opportunities to do some creek play; we go armed with plastic cups, nets and our identification books. And of course, we just play too!

We attended a lecture and hands on collecting walk with our local Wildlife Conservancy group, about Nighttime Lepidoptera, aka moths! The lecture was given by Dr David Adamski, and discussed the characteristics of moths, their evolution from the prehistoric era. We were then able to go outside, and look at the moths and other nighttime insects attracted to the catch sheet by a black light. As we were out past bedtime, and in a park further out from our suburban home, we were also able to do a little star watching. Hawkeye did an Astronomy project with his 4H Club last year, so we brushed up on some of the things we learned; finding the Northern Star, Orion's Belt, Cassiopeia and the Seven Sisters. 

And scattered through all of these events, have been our nearly daily Nature Walks. Even a five minute trot around the neighborhood qualifies in my book! We look at leaves, visit a favorite tree, check out blossoms and berries and listen to the birds (and sometimes try to identify them by their song alone).
As part of our morning walks, Hawkeye will often take nature photographs, that he then adds to his nature-themed Instagram page, Mudheads. 

Reading
We continued daily reading (Easy Reader, Level 1 books) and played on the Teach Your Monster To Read app.

Math
Continuing our work through Life of Fred: Edgewood

Ongoing Reading
My Book House, In the Nursery (daily)
Aesop Fables (daily)
The poems of Walter de la Mare (daily)
Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin
     - Grace Darling
     - The Story of William Tell
Seabird, by Holling C. Holling
     - chapter 20
     - chapter 21
The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess
     -  The Towhee and the Indigo Bunting
Among the Forest People, by Clara Dillingham Pierson
     - The Night Moth with the Crooked Feeler
     - The Bees and the Kingbird
Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling
     - How the Alphabet Was Made

Chapter Books Read
Ramona Quimby, Age 8, by Beverly Cleary

History Books Read
The Matchlock Gun, by Walter D. Edwards

Non-fiction Books Read
The Mary Celeste, by Jane Yolen 

Picture Books Read
Dear Mili, by Wilhelm Grimm
The Little Brute Family, by Russel Hoban
Tim and Ginger, by Edward Ardizzone
Many Moons, by James Thurber